Ian and Zoey had a discussion about the food after eating but decided to continue it on another day with Zoey's dad.
The following day, Ian and Emmett went to Zoey's to talk with Dave. Zoey had told him about Ian's dish and wanted him to try it before anything was said.
Ian had no issue cooking his food again for Dave. He brought all of the same ingredients from the previous night to cook.
Dave didn't usually let anyone into his kitchen but made an exception this one time. Dave, Zoey, and Emmett sat at one of the tables while Ian was hard at work. Ian didn't take as long in cooking thanks to the equipment Dave had.
When Ian was done he brought out four bowls on a tray to the table. He passed on to everyone before taking his own seat. Emmett wasted no time and began to eat. Zoey followed his example and started to eat.
Dave took a moment to examine the dish. Ian watched him carefully. A drop of sweat ran down the side of his face.
The noodle stew was presented very well. All of the ingredients were neatly separated from each other. The steam that came off of it gave a magnificent aroma that actually made Dave hungry.
Dave spent no more time examining the food and decided to dig in. He grabbed his fork and took a bite. To everyone else at the table, Dave's face did not change after the first bite. However, in Dave's mind, he was going over all the different flavors.
Everyone was nervous as they all watched Dave eat the food at a slow and steady pace. The one who was the most nervous though was Ian. Ian never made food for anyone outside of his family since he didn't know what their reaction would be.
Whenever Ian made one of his dishes it would usually be for a special occasion. However, he chose to make it for Zoey as a favor to Emmett. Due to that, he was now here making food for Dave.
By now everyone had finished eating and were now waiting for Dave to give his thoughts on Ian's food. Zoey was confident that Dave would approve of the food since he finished it all.
Dave took a good amount of time to think but when he finished he said, "For someone who doesn't have much cooking experience, you were able to make something that is both pleasing to look at and tastes good. The scent is also appealing. The quality of your food could compete with mine but I need to make sure that this isn't just a one-time deal."
Ian and Emmett weren't sure what Dave meant by this. They looked at each other with a worried look.
Dave looked at Ian to say, "You're going to have to do a test run with the people first before any deal is made."
Dave went on to explain that Ian will have to sell or give small portions to random people to get feedback. If more people liked the dish then Dave would make a deal with Ian. The four of them made plans to set up a stand so they can give some samplers to the public.
It took them a few days to come up with a date to give the samplers. During those days Ian practiced making more of his noodle stew and how to properly separate it.
When the day came Ian and Emmett went to Zoey's again. Outside, in front of the restaurant, Dave and Zoey were waiting for them. Dave had set up a small stand already for Ian. It had just enough space for Ian to cook.
People who were walking down the street saw the stand and were starting to gather around. A few people ask Dave about the stand. All he said was that if they wanted to find out then they'll have to stay to find out.
Ian was getting nervous due to the crowd. He finished setting up his equipment and began to cook.
The people that gathered around were surprised at the fact that Ian was the one who was cooking. It would usually be Dave or Zoey who cooked. Some people were thinking if Dave was planning on hiring Ian and if this was just a test for him.
Everyone that was watching Ian cook was wondering what he was making. People thought it was a soup of some kind or maybe a spaghetti dish. What threw people off was the addition of milk. It was not a common ingredient to use in any of the two dishes people thought.
Even though adding milk to food was unusual, many people started to get hungry thanks to the smell. No matter how weird the food looked, most people would eat anything that smelled delicious.
Ian, though nervous, still managed to make his noodle stew without any issues. He had practiced making the food so many times in the past that by now it was second nature for him. His body would move automatically when cooking one of his dishes so even if he was nervous his body still knew what to do.
Once Ian had made the first portion that he would usually make, he split it into small cups for people to try. There were enough cups for ten people per portion.
Emmett grabbed the tray that had the cups and walked around to pass them out. People were hesitant at first but then one guy, who worked with Ian and Emmett, grabbed one. He tried it without a second thought.
People around him were waiting for his reaction. When he took the first bite, he didn't say anything. Instead, he continued to eat.
Even though he didn't say anything about the food, the fact that he kept on eating said enough. Nine others grabbed a cup and began to eat them. Everyone who got one was surprised at how good the sampler was.
Dave was keeping a close eye on both Ian and the crowd. With the ten cups gone Ian had to make more. Dave wanted to see if Ian could keep up with the demand. When the first ten had been taken, Ian was almost done with the next batch.
Emmett returned the tray to the stand right before Ian was finished with the next serving. He grabbed some more disposable cups and placed them on the tray again.
It would take Ian around ten minutes to finish making a bowl worth of the stew. If he had to make more than one bowl at a time it would take him between fifteen to thirty minutes.
With this info, Dave had determined that Ian alone could not handle the lunch rush. However, he would be able to handle an average day of customers.
An hour had passed and almost everyone that was standing around had gotten a cup of noodle stew. Dave knew that with the small amount of space Ian was working with, he wouldn't be able to make a large batch to serve.
After thirty more minutes, Ian had finished serving everyone who was going to get a cup. Dave was hoping to have Ian work at the stand for two hours, but he was able to satisfy everyone under the allotted time.
Once everyone was served, Ian and Dave packed up and removed the stand. Afterward, Dave, Ian, and Dave went inside. Zoey was inside serving customers.
The three of them sat down at a table when they entered. Ian and Emmett looked nervous as they sat and waited for Dave to say something.
After a moment Dave turned to Ian and said, "Your cooking skills are good but they can be better. However, the dish you made is different from anything I make."
Ian and Emmett didn't say a word as Dave spoke but they did calm down a bit as he spoke.
"Okay, here is my offer to you, Ian. I would like to hire you as a cook. Also, I would like to sell your food at the restaurant." Dave looked Ian straight in the eyes as he spoke.
Ian took a moment to think of Dave's offer before saying, "I'd love to work for you, but you do know that I'll be applying to the academy in a few months? If I do work for you it will only be for less than half a year."
Dave understood what Ian was talking about so he changed his offer, "Fine, then how about you allow me to sell your food here? I'll pay a portion of the earnings as compensation for allowing me. Not only that, I would still like for you to work for me, even if it is for a few months."
Ian thought about this offer for a bit, then said, "I accept the offer but how much will you pay me for selling my recipes?"
"How does 20 percent sound?" Dave replied
Ian wasn't expecting that he would be offered that much by Dave. He thought the offer was a great one and so he chose to agree with it.
Before they finished talking though, Dave asked, "By the way, do you have a name for the dish you made?"
"I'm not too sure but whenever I made this dish I had a word in the back of my mind. So I think I'm going to call it that." Ian replied.
"And what would that be?" Dave asked.
"I think I'll call it Ramen." Everyone at the table heard the name and thought it was a weird name, but since Ian is the one who made the dish, no one chose to argue.
After all was said and done, Dave wrote up a contract with all the terms and conditions on it. On the contract, it said that Ian would work for Dave until school. It also said that Ian would get 20 percent of the earnings that are made from selling any of the dishes Ian has made the recipe for. Both Ian and Dave signed the contract and shook hands afterward.